"We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism, and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
30 April 1967
Anyone out there get today off? Mrs. Runner and Runner daughter do.
My wife and I do. And I'm in bed with stomach flu.
As I've said before, in my situation I can take a day off pretty much whenever I want. The trouble is that nobody does the work for me when I'm not there. Work is the most patient thing in the world. It just sits there and waits for you.
I've heard it before, and I'll hear it again, but I really like this formulation ("Work is the most patient thing in the world") and must strive to use it in my own life.
I pretty much used this over the weekend talking to my son about his school work.
It's a tough lesson (for all of us!)
I do, and I've already paid a visit to the dentist. This is what I get for just scheduling six months in advance without checking to see what day is being offered.
New employer takes the day off, a first for me in over a decade.
My whole family is off today, since my wife and I are both college teachers. But, I’m not teaching on Mondays this winter term, so I would be off either way.
Mike and I are basically the same person, I guess.
http://isitmonday.today/
I'm off, bank (credit union) holiday! Spent the morning cleaning around the house, spent the afternoon dealing with the newest foster dog, a Frenchie named "Hoss". I like to think he was named after Old Hoss Radbourn.
Yup, I am working, but y'all probably already assumed that. I did take Sunday off. Brought the boy back to college. Roads between Alex and Minneapolis were about 80% dry, which actually is not a good thing. False sense of security driving the speed limit and then hitting glare ice with cars all around you. There was one moment when I was passing a semi, the road looked dry, but the Jeep started to shimmy. Scary moment, but survived.
oof.
This is awesome.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/political-hobbyists-are-ruining-politics/605212/
Some of you are active politically. Kudos to you. I, on the other hand, am implicated exactingly in this article.
It's tougher to be active when you don't feel like you fit on either "team."
I am a bit more active but in a sneaky way. Due to my business it is hard for me to really stick my neck out on social media or in conversation. However, over the years, I have bombarded friends, colleagues, family with common sense debate and I can think of at least 6 people right now who switched parties, or dumped a party and became independent, at some point after our conversations. My brother is one. He went from one extreme to the other. Grass roots, yet I wonder if it has trickled over to other people in their lives.
To also piggy back on Algonad's comment below... I don't really feel like I am a great fit for either team. Though I do lean one way. For me, it is more about fighting corruption, stupidity and heartless policies. Unfortunately, there is a lot of that out there right now.
Yes, a couple things keeping me on the sideline. I once swore an oath to the constitution, and like to stick with that one. Don't know that I could stomach declaring allegiance to a "party." But the article speaks of organizing for interests as much or more than "party" itself.
Also, I often wonder, when I see protests and such..."don't those people have a job?" Who has time to take days for rallies and all that? I don't mean that disparagingly. I know I have exactly the luxury that the article speaks of in that I'm comfortable, even if I find the state of things less than ideal. Between work and family...I simply don't know where that many people find the time. And bless them if they're making the choice to take on those sacrifices for their cause.
My own experience tends to corroborate this. When I was working for the DFL, I did a lot of volunteer recruitment, at least 4 hours a day. I got to the point during recruiting calls where I often skipped over middle-age men (30 to 50) in the database and focused on women and young people. I learned quickly who was willing to really engage and who wasn't, and I didn't have time to waste on people who didn't want to give their time.
I referred to this as "Scrolling Alone" on teh Twitters.
Not a huge fan of the basic thesis.
I wasn’t sure what you meant in your tweet.
I have occasional pangs of self-consciousness about privilege and not doing anything meaningful. I felt implicated by what was said here.
I also had to look up the use of triple parentheses. I regret it. Man, I hate this world sometimes.
Yes. So many shitty people in the world.
But a lot of good people too. Gotta hang onto that.
It is a riff on Putnam's Bowling Alone.
To oversimplify, Putnam argued that there has been a significant loss of social capital since the good ol' days, signified by fewer people belonging to clubs or joining bowling leagues. Which totally missed many newer forms of social interactions and institutional ties.
Hersh echoes this thesis, complaining that them college boys and girls don't join local civic groups or read local newspapers.
If you have an hour to kill, I would suggest seeking out Don Van Natta's "Backstory" show on ESPN. He takes a look at Shoeless Joe Jackson, Pete Rose, and gambling in baseball.
Hey, WGOM lawyers (or others) do you know of a good lawyer to help with a workplace sexual harassment issue? Email me privately at freealonzo at the gmails. Asking for a friend. Seriously I’m asking for a friend who is getting the round around from supervisors.
This just in: Damien Lillard was ridiculous tonight. 61 vs the Warriors, and the Blazers needed all of them. Tied the game with seconds to go to force OT. And came through in OT to seal the win.